Railroad-tie and fastening.



J. L. KIMBALL.

RAILROAD TIE AND FASTENING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27, 1911.

Patented Dec. 26, 1911.

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coLumBlA PLANOGRAPH CO.,WASHINGTON. D. c

JAMES L. KIMBALL, OF VIRGINIA, MINNESOTA.

RAILROAD-TIE AND FASTENING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1911 Application filed September 27, 1911. Serial No.651,627.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES L. KIMBALL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Virginia, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota,have invented new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Ties andFastenings, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention has reference to railroad ties of the type shownand described in my prior Patent, No. 993,254, granted May 24:, 1911.

It comprehends certain lmprovements n or relating to the construction ofthe tie proper, and the locks provided for the purpose of holding thespikes against distortion and accidental displacement.

A structural embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, whereof Figure l is a plan view of the lmprovedtie complete; Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of one end of the tie;Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;Fig. 4: is a perspective view of one of the boxes included in the-tieproper; Flg. 5 is a plan view of one of the locking tongues; and Fig. 6is a broken side elevation of a modification.

As shown in said drawing, the tie proper, which is indicated generallyby the numeral 1, comprises a metal shell 2 and a pair of metal boxes 3connected to the ends of said shell. These boxes are constructed ofchannel steel or pressed steel plate and are opentopped and rectangularin shape; the portions of the blank which form the vertical sides 4terminate short of the ends 5 of the blank, the said ends being bentupwardly flush against the end edges of the sides, as depicted in Fig.4. The shell 2 is likewise of U- or channel-section, and is of aslightlygreater width than the boxes, so as to admit of its being fittedover the latter when inverted, in which instance its depending sides 6will fit flush against the sides of the boxes; it is supported in thisposition by the said box sides and rests upon the upper longitudinaledges thereof, the shell and boxes being fastened together by suitablebolts 7 which are passed through registering openings in the overlappingsides 4 and 6. The length of the boxes is approximately onethird that ofthe shell.

To the under face of the top or roof of the shell, at each end thereof,isattaohed a pair of spring locking-tongues 8 Whichare substantially ofthe same shape and are disposed in the same manner as those shown anddescribed in my prior patent above identified; that is to say, they aresecured at one end to the shell, extend past each other in oppositedirections, and normally bear in fiat condition against the under faceof the shell top. Their free ends are cut away at one corner, thusproducing a forwardly-extending finger 9 and a transverse shoulder 10 atone side of the base thereof.

The headed spikes 11 employed to fasten the rails 12 to the tie arepassed through rectangular holes or openings 13 formed through the shellbody at the proper points,

and the arrangement of the tongues 8 with respect to these openings issuch that the latter lie directly above the shoulders 10 on saidtongues, as depicted in Fig. 2; or, stated otherwise, the aforesaidshoulders extend a slight distance below the openings. In consequence,when the spikes are inserted through said openings, they will engage theshoulders and cause the spring tongues to bend or flex, the stressoccasioned by such tensioning being exerted directly against theadjacent flat faces of the-spikes.

To coact with the above-described locking springs in retaining thespikes in place, bearings are employed, as in the former construction.These bearings are provided upon the boxes, in the present instance,rather than upon the shell, and they are produced by slitting the boxsides to form the tongues 14 shown in Fig. 4, which tongues are bentinwardly and downwardly so as to project horizontally above and acrossthe box bottoms. Said tongues 1a are so located as to extend across inengagement, or substantially so, with the opposite faces of the spikesfrom those engaged by the shoulders 10, the arrangement being such thatthe spikes are braced by the tongues against the pressure exerted uponthem by the spring tongues 8; accordingly, the coaction between the twosets of tongues 8 and 14 will serve not only to forcibly retain thespikes in position, but, also, to prevent lateral tilting of the same ina direction parallel to the rails. In order to admit of withdrawal ofthe spikes, however, when necessary, there is formed through the shelladjacent each spike opening 13 and directly above the finger 9 on thecorresponding spring tongue, a second opening 16 through which, as inthe earlier construction, a suitable implement may be inserted, todepress the free end of the spring tongue and thus disengage itsshoulder 10 from the spike.

It will be observed from the foregoing that the boxes require no boltsor rivet-s to hold their parts together, and, further, that the spikelocks are completely inclosed within the boxes and, hence, are protectedfrom contact with ballast, snow and mud.

The tie, as a whole, may be tamped in the usual manner, and the innerends of the boxes pull against each other, in a sense, in the ballast,thus serving to hold the track rails in line. The central portion of thetie is rendered more or less springy by reason of the space between theboxes. It is finally to be noted that each spike is engaged by the inneredge of the finger of the corresponding spring tongue, in addition tothe shoulder on that tongue and the adjacent edge of the box tongue, andthat the edge of the latter and the shoulder on the aforesaid springtongue are approximately parallel.

In the modification shown in Fig. 6 the two separate boxes 5 at the endsof the shell are replaced by a single box which is coextensive in lengthwith said shell, the ends of this box being provided with tongues whichare in every respect identical with the tongues 14 employed in theduplex box construction. The single box construction is designedespecially for switch ties and head blocks.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a railroad tie, the combination of a shell of invertedchannel-section having its top formed with spike openings; an opentoppedbox of channel-section having its opposite sides overlapped by the sidesof the shell and formed with inwardly-extending tongues adapted toengage the spikes passed through said openings; locking springs securedto the under face of the shell top and having their free ends adapted toforcibly engage said spikes at the opposite side from the first-namedtongues, whereby the spikes I are held between said first andsecond-named tongues and are braced by the former against the pressureof the latter; and fastening devices passed through the overlappingsides of said shell and box, to connect the same together.

2. In a railroad tie, the combination of a shell of invertedchannel-section having its top formed with spike openings; an opentoppedbox of channel-section having its opposite sides overlapped by the sides.of the shell, thesides of said box being slotted to produce tongueswhich are adapted to be bent inwardly and downwardly into horizontalposition, for engaging the adjacent faces of the spikes passed throughsaid open ings; locking springs secured to the under face of the shelltop and having their free ends provided with transverse shoulders andwith longitudinal fingers, said shoulders being adapted to forciblyengage said spikes at the opposite side from the first-named tongues,and said fingers extending across said spikes, whereby the spikes areheld between said fingers and said firstand secondnamed tongues and arebraced by the firstnamed tongues against the pressure of thesecond-named tongues; and fastening devices passed through theoverlapping sides of said shell and box, to connect the same together.

3. In a railroad tie, the combination of a shell of invertedchannel-section; an opentopped box of channel-section disposed beneathand connected to each end of the shell and having its opposite sidesoverlapped by the sides of said shell, the ends of each box being bentupwardly against the end edges of the sides of that box to close theinterior thereof, and the inner ends of said boxes being spaced fromeach other; and spike locks disposed at each end of the tie within thecorresponding box.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JAMES L. KIMBALL.

l/Vitnesses WVH. J. ARCHER,

NOBLE KIRKBY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

